


Reminder: This is NOT a Vacation

by ForensicSpider98



Series: Love After the Fact [53]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alien Biology, Alien Cultural Differences, All this stress is bad for the baby, Altean Adam (Voltron), Altean Prince Lance (Voltron), Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Aromantic Asexual Pidge | Katie Holt, Balmeran Hunk (Voltron), Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, F/M, Galra Shiro (Voltron), Galran Prince Keith (Voltron), Gen, Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, M/M, Moral Ambiguity, Moral Dilemmas, Multi, Nonbinary Pidge | Katie Holt, Olkari Pidge | Katie Holt, Post-War, it's keith. keith is the baby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:15:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24862921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ForensicSpider98/pseuds/ForensicSpider98
Summary: Lance meets a particular primate, which is good. He's got more than one job right now, which is bad.
Relationships: Adam/Shiro (Voltron), Alfor/Coran (Voltron), Allura/Lotor/Romelle (Voltron), Haggar/Zarkon (Voltron), Hunk & Pidge | Katie Holt, Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Series: Love After the Fact [53]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1635043
Comments: 74
Kudos: 181





	Reminder: This is NOT a Vacation

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, darlings! I was going through some older episodes and editing for minor continuity errors and typos and realized I misgendered Vetroneius a few times. Vetroneius is gender-fluid, and uses they/them pronouns. I'm fixing this error, but I do apologize if anyone was upset or hurt by this error. If you see more errors like this with any of my characters, please let me know! <3<3<3

Walking through the city is mostly Lance watching his spouse smile and stop to play with windchimes and catch flying lizards. He doesn’t mind. It gives him a chance to avoid the unfriendly gazes of the locals.

Some are hateful. Lance assumes that these are the soldiers, the ones who fought in the war. The rest are suspicious, fearful. They hurry their kits inside, peer out at him from from behind curtains and cloth doors. A few come back out with weapons. 

The reaction seems to worsen once they actually set eyes on Keith, still dressed in Altean clothes, very clearly not an adult. Lance wishes Adam were with them as an extra set of eyes, but ordered his friend to go speak to Shiro about the current political climate on Daibazaal.

“He smells different right now,” Krolia whispers in Lance's ear. “He smells like he’s in the midst of a growth spurt.”

“Can they tell I haven’t slept with him?” he murmurs back.

“Yes. It was a great risk you took, bringing him out into the open like this. Why?”

“I won’t let my parents nor your emperor go unchecked by the people. Plus, a small mercy can go a long way toward earning respect. It seems it did for you, at any rate.”

“That is not a small mercy, Prince Lancel. A Galra is tied to their mate forever. They never take another. As such, the taking of a mate is something inherently precious. To force yourself upon another is punishable by death.”

“Then I suppose it is very fortunate that I made the choice that I did... I gave my father my word. I only have a phoeb.”

“What will he do if you betray him?” Krolia’s eyes follow her son as he stops to grab some food, a loaf of bread with the inside cut out and filled with stew, the leftover bread on the side. The kit chats with the people around the pot, smiling all the while. It’s so different from how he is on Altea.

“I’m not sure. Probably not anything. These days, I am more beloved by the people, but… They fear him. Alfor has a legacy soaked in blood, blood that I inherited. Still, I don’t wish to pass that legacy on to our children. As it is, I hate that I have passed it on to Keith.”

The youth in question returns, sidling up to Lance almost shyly, slipping his hand slowly into Lance’s larger one like he doesn’t want anyone to see. Lance, for his part, beams with delight, a light blush beneath his scales as he presses a sweet kiss to Keith’s cheek.

Krolia only follows in silence, eyes lingering on how every time they stop, Keith’s tail twists around his ankle, how he follows Lance with one ear the entire walk. Lance appears to have gotten used to these things. Krolia’s unsure that she ever will.

Keith’s den, which he shared with his mother before her appointment at the compound, is about a third of the way down the mountain, looming over much of the city below. It’s simple, cut from the same red stone as everything else, one large dome as a living space, a few more attached. The ceiling is only just high enough to accommodate a taller Galra, low enough that it won’t get too warm inside during sunny afternoons.

Lance is fascinated by how Galra use their electricity and resources. And how they don’t. Most electronic technology appears to be centered in public areas for anyone to use, and the compound, for use by the Blade of Marmora and other vetted members. Meanwhile, everyday life consists mainly of manual labor and visiting with neighbors. It’s a semi-agrarian community, and seemingly more by choice than by necessity.

He wonders about the glares that have followed him all the way there, whether _those_ are by choice or by necessity.

He follows Keith into the den, pushing aside a purple cloth hung in the entryway. A creature shrieks from a branch wedged into the dome above. Lance takes a tick to wonder how many times Shiro’s walked into it.

“BleepBloop!” Keith holds his arms out, letting the primate leap into them. BleepBloop chitters, fingers and toes struggling to find a good purchase of his clothes, but Keith just smiles, embracing his childhood friend, supporting his little body.

The bottle-green primate snuggles against his chest, having missed Keith as much as Keith missed him. The kit gently strokes his old friend, whispers in his little round ear.

Lance leans over to Krolia. “That thing… BleepBloop? It’s coming back with us. What’s it eat?”

“Oh, he'll eat anything, as long as it’s made of meat and either alive or very recently alive.”

“Gotcha. He’ll like our garden. There’s a nice tree out there. And the canopy of our bed. And the loft. My resident engineer, Pidge, can come up with some climbing mechanisms for him, too.”

“Sounds good. It'll make them both very happy.” Krolia sighs. “I’d best return to the compound. I’ll come back here around nightfall, if that’s alright.”

“Of course. He’s your boy. You’re welcome to monopolize him while he’s here. I promise I won’t hold it against you, though I might take it personally.”

The woman chuckles, slips out after planting a kiss on top her son’s head, promising she’ll be back.

“It’s okay, buddy. I’m here. I’m- I’m _home_.” Keith turns, still stroking his pet. He sits down on the floor of the den, removing his vest with nimble, practiced fingers. Lance goes to sit beside him, rests his head on Keith’s shoulder. He feels oddly insecure, very much like he doesn’t belong. He comforts himself with the reminder that Keith’s felt like this for nearly a decaphoeb. It’s his turn.

“I raised him from a weanling,” Keith murmurs. “His mother, TreeTrunks, died with my father when Bleeps still slept in her pouch. We spent a long while just the two of us after that. I really hated leaving him behind.”

“Looks like he missed you, huh?” Lance closes his eyes against Keith’s nod. “Do you think he’ll like Altea?”

“He’ll love the forest. The wildlife might hate him though.” Keith sighs, rests his head on top of Lance’s head. “Fuck, I’m still tired. Stupid, shitty metabolism. Sorry if I’m putting you out. I’m sure you have diplomatic schemes or whatever.”

“That’s okay, beloved. Ass-kissing can wait.”

“You go. I can-”

“Uh-uh. Listen.” Lance draws back, tucks a finger under Keith’s chin to get him to meet his eyes. “This is very important, okay? Your health is very important-”

“Yes, so I can bear you children. Gods, you’d think it’s the only thing I can do.”

“No, so you can be healthy. I care about you, Keith. You’re important to me.” Lance tips their foreheads together, leans up to get closer to his ear. “Let’s go take a nap.”

In one of the siderooms, there’s a round bed suspended by a series of ropes from the ceiling, and a curved chest against the wall. Keith rummages around, pulls out two sets of clothes, dark pants and white shirts, both loose-fit. “Want something more comfortable?”

“Yeah, alright.” Lance accepts a set of clothes, forgets what he’s supposed to be doing as Keith just tugs off his long-sleeved shirt like it’s nothing at all to him. Keith gives him a hard look.

“What, is that really all it takes for you?”

“Sh- Shut up! You-” Lance tosses the clothes onto the weird bed, glaring at his unimpressed spouse. “You forget you’re one of the first Galra except Zarkon I ever saw in person. And you’re my spouse, _and_ I’ve literally never seen you without all your clothes on.”

“That’s not true! There was that fitting for the Frost Ball-”

“My back was turned. Doesn’t count.”

“Well, fine! If it’s that big of a deal for you, here!” Keith holds out his arms, pouting. “Behold my naked chest.”

Lance snorts, tugs Keith close by his trim waist, running his eyes up a well-muscled torso to spare collarbones and broadening but still narrow shoulders. So similar, and yet so very, very different from himself. “Ancients, you’re adorable when you make that face.” He kisses that pout away. “Also, your fur is so soft.”

“Oh, I- Thank you.”

"Hey, Beloved. Don't be so shy." Tugging on the end of Keith’s braid, Lance turns away, stripping his own clothes, pulling on the shirt and pants. They don’t fit perfectly, but thanks to their loose design, they’ll work fine.

“I can see your scales through the shirt,” Keith whispers. “You have a lot of them.”

“Yes. I do.” Lance bites his lip. “Keith?”

“Hm?” Keith raises a dark eyebrow, violet eyes smiles.

“Was this -coming here- Was this a mistake?”

“A ‘get murdered in your sleep’ kind of mistake or a ‘commit diplomatic suicide’ kind of mistake?” Lance shrugs. Keith sighs, smiles, lifts his hands to brush his thumbs over Lance’s cheeks. It’s his turn. “Lance. You are wonderful at many things. Chief among them is to dance into a room with that charming smile and make everyone feel welcome. And I love that. So much. But… You’re not welcoming my people. They have to welcome you.”

“Okay… How do I- how do I do that?”

“I don’t know.” Keith steps forward, embraces his spouse, tucks his head beneath his chin. “But I know you’ll figure it out. It’s a people thing. You’re people. I’m… not.”

“Hey, you’re people. You’re people that was just a person for a long time, but you’re people. All those other people out there? They love you and were happy to see you happy and safe. And whether anybody here likes me or not, I’m happy to see you happy.”

Lance runs his hands up and down Keith’s back, listening as he starts to purr, soft and sweet. He’s not sure when he became able to make him purr so easily, but Lance considers it a good sign, a sign that he truly does make Keith happy. He settles somewhat cautiously into the odd hanging bed, not surprised when Keith wraps his arms and tail around him, tangles their legs together. Lance tugs a blanket over them, makes sure it’s snug around Keith’s shoulders.

“Let me know if you’re hurting again, okay?”

“Mhm.” Keith’s purring softens, sleepy and content.

“Keith?” No response. He’s already asleep. “Thanks, beloved. Rest well.”

BleepBloop hops up, sniffs Lance’s hand suspiciously. Lance slowly reaches out to rub the little creature’s head, smiling at how the primate’s red eyes close as he leans into the touch. Like master, like pet, adorable and deeply appreciative of affection.

Lance doesn’t mind in the slightest, but he can't fully indulge as he carefully maneuvers them so he's lying on his back. He pulls out the collapsible datapad he'd hidden in the waistband of his pants, set it on his chest so he can project a Daibazaani import manifest from Adam and Shiro in front of him. Something about the numbers isn't adding up.

There's a weight discrepancy that might total out to about four Unilu. Or any number of things really, but he'll break it apart piece by piece, inspect a three-dimensional map of the ship in question, and then he'll scroll through security footage and interviews until his eyes bleed while he searches for answers.

It's been a phoeb and a half, but he hasn't forgotten that someone wants him and his family dead.

**Author's Note:**

> Next time on Love After the Fact: I haven't fully decided, so let's conduct a vote! Your options are based upon some of the requests I got from Episode 45 <3  
> -A Rainy Day (Klance and/or Shadam)  
> -Lotor and Pidge being bros  
> -A visit to Keith's childhood home  
> -Lance talking to Keith about his scales and what they mean  
> -A flashback to a good memory Lance has with his father
> 
> Cast your votes below! <3<3<3


End file.
